Casey Kotchman(notes) lofted a short fly to center field in the third inning and angrily slammed his bat to the ground.<\/p>\n
He took out his aggression on the Phillies the rest of the game.<\/p>\n
Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs, Kenshin Kawakami(notes) pitched six effective innings and the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 4-2 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Kotchman hit a two-out, two-run single off Jack Taschner(notes) (1-1) in the seventh inning to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. He also had an RBI double in the ninth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to make the most of the opportunities I get, said Kotchman, who went 3 for 5 to raise his average to .312.<\/p>\n
Garret Anderson(notes) had two hits for the Braves (15-16), who took two of three from the Phillies to move within one game of .500. Rafael Soriano(notes) worked the ninth for his third save in three opportunities.<\/p>\n
Matt Stairs(notes) got a rare start for Philadelphia and went 2 for 2 with a run-scoring double and a walk. Ryan Howard(notes) also had a pair of doubles and scored two runs.
\nThe Phillies fell to 0-10 when scoring three runs or less.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely have to play better,\u201d manager Charlie Manuel said. \u201cWe have to be more consistent. We haven\u2019t put it together like we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kawakami (2-4) allowed two runs and five hits, struck out six and walked four. The 33-year-old rookie, a six-time All-Star in Japan, picked up his first win in nearly a month.<\/p>\n
\u201cKawakami pitched a gutsy game,\u201d Braves manager Bobby Cox said. \u201cHe had great stuff and kept the left-handers off balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brett Myers(notes) turned in a solid outing for Philadelphia, yielding one run and five hits despite hitting two batters. He was lifted for pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs(notes) in the bottom of the sixth despite throwing only 92 pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt a little better and had more control than in the past,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI felt stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myers helped end Chipper Jones\u2019(notes) 29-game hitting streak against the Phillies. Jones was 0-for-3 with a walk, marking the first time since April 5, 2007, that he failed to register a hit against Philadelphia. Jones\u2019 streak was the longest by a Braves player against another team since 1954.
\nJones left in the seventh with a sore elbow and is listed as day to day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t throw across the infield,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019ll see how it feels (Monday). If I can play, I\u2019ll play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Braves loaded the bases with no outs in the first but managed just one run on a sacrifice fly to center by Anderson.<\/p>\n
Pedro Feliz(notes) tied it with an RBI single in the second.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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